Until Today
by kirashiki
Summary: A short Richonne one shot. Set in Alexandria.


Rick heard the muffled voices as he entered the pantry- the voices became more distinguishable as he walked deeper into the pantry.

He was almost certain that the male voice that was speaking was Spencer, he didn't quite focus on the words he was saying because honestly, the younger man left an unsavory taste in his mouth. He only tolerated him because he seemed to be a friend of Michonne's.

Rick had learned that getting on Michonne's bad side was not something he particularly enjoyed.

He hated when she looked at him with disappointment washed over her features, it made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world.

So he tried his very best to stay on her good side. He enjoyed the way she smiled at him much more than when she looked at him in disappointment.

"Spencer..."

He froze when he heard her voice.

Michonne.

Rick frowned before abandoning his task to get the spaghetti ingredients to peek around the corner instead.

This was far more important than spaghetti.

Carl would just have to understand.

"Shhh... there's nothing to worry about." Spencer said.

Rick saw him gently cup Michonne's cheek and he almost broke his jaw from how tightly it clenched in anger.

Who did this weasel think he was? What the hell made him think he was good enough to put his slimy hands on her face?

Rick was glad he caught himself before he scoffed aloud giving away the fact that he was eavesdropping.

He then shook his head- he was not eavesdropping. He was here to get more sauce for the spaghetti, nothing more. He just so happened to walk in on Spencer's pathetic attempt to wow Michonne.

Rick scoffed internally before thinking 'Nice try pretty boy, she'll never even think to give you a chance.'

"Michonne, I know this all seems so sudden... but you are the only one that I can picture myself with. Even before all of this, I would have chose you."

Rick rolled his eyes.

How corny was this dude? No matter how many pretty words he said, Michonne would never-

"Let me show you how it could be." Whispered sensually before lowering his lips to hers.

Rick frowned when he realized she was actually going to let this clown kiss her.

His chest tightened and he questioned what that meant.

His best friend was being shown the attention she deserved, so why wasn't he happy for her? Why did his chest tighten the way it did?

Rick turned around and left the pantry as silent as he could. He wouldn't watch anymore of this nonsense.

Because that's what it was. Michonne and Spencer? Together? It didn't get more silly than that.

His best friend was too good for such a little sniveling brat like Spencer.

Rick figured his anger was because he knew she could do better. That was it, he was angry because she deserved much better!

Just as he left, Michonne gently pushed Spencer away from her and smiled sympathetically at him.

"What is it?" Spencer whispered hand still comfortably resting on her face.

"I'm sorry Spencer but... it could never work."

"It could!" He said eagerly. "It could work-"

"It can't. " Michonne denied shaking her head.

She took a deep breath whilst looking him in the eye.

She only let him kiss her to see if she felt anything, but she didn't. They had absolutely no sexual chemistry. It was like kissing a wall and it just all together felt wrong.

She felt like she wasn't supposed to be kissing him but rather, someone else.

Not just someone else, but him. Rick.

He was her best friend and she could pinpoint the exact moment her feelings for him began to change but she knew they had.

This only proved it. Spencer was a nice looking young man who was confessing his feelings for her and all she could think about was Rick.

What would it be like to kiss him? How would his lips feel against hers?

Michonne shut her eyes tightly and shook away the mental images of Rick's lips on hers.

'Stop it Michonne, you're just sexually frustrated' she told herself silently.

But that was just her ignoring the obvious. Yes, she was indeed sexually frustrated but her attraction to her best friend was far more than just that.

She was falling in love with him. Maybe she was already in love with him.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she forgot that Spencer was standing there.

"Is it because of Rick?" He asked with a bite in his tone.

Michonne didn't feel the need to lie to him, so she answered as honest as she could. "Yes... I think it is."

Spencer lowered his head in defeat. "You're in love with him?" He asked even though he didn't need to. Everyone already knew the answer to that question including him.

Of course she loved Rick. He knew it but he wanted to try anyway. He hoped she could wake the hell up and snap out of it.

"He's unhinged, and cold! Wake up Michonne! He could never love you the way you love him. You're practically begging to be let down. What could he offer you that I can't?"

"You don't know Rick like I do Spencer. Please, don't talk about him that way. I'm sorry but you and I could never work. I'm sorry." She stepped away from him and headed for the exit.

She couldn't even remember why she was in the pantry in the first place. She got sidetracked when Spencer cornered her.

Just as she was at the exit Spencer called out to her.

She kept her back to him as he spoke. "He'll hurt you. He's seeing Jessie."

Michonne stiffened at his words and hoped he couldn't tell how affected she was by whay he just said. She continued out the pantry without justifying his words with a response.

...

...

"Dad, why didn't you get the stuff for spaghetti?" Carl groaned.

He didn't know if he could take another one of Carol's casseroles. He just wanted something appetizing for today. Was that really too much to ask for?

He groaned again as he sank into the couch. No ingredients for spaghetti meant they were eating casserole again. Though he knew he should be grateful to be eating anything, he did not want another casserole. He sighed in defeat as he watched Judith play with her red solo cups.

"I'm sorry son... I forgot." Rick said peering at the wall infront of him.

"Dad?" Carl frowned. "Are you sure nothing happened while you went to the pantry? You look like you seen a ghost."

During his walk home, he had time to think about what that feeling in his chest meant and he was finally realizing that maybe he had feelings for his best friend. That scared him more than he expected. Especially since she seemed like she was entering a relationship with Spencer.

"I'm fine..." he lied.

"If you say so-"

The doorbell rang and Carl rolled his eyes. He knew that only one person would be ringing the doorbell and that was Jessie Anderson.

She made stopping by their house every single day apart of her daily routine and he was growing tired of her. He wished his dad wasn't so lenient with her. Why couldn't he just tell her he wasn't interested?

She was annoying and she always offered to cut his hair.

His dad was still peering at the wall in his own world so he got up and answered the door.

"Hi Carl!" She said trying to look over his shoulder into the house. She spotted who she was looking for. He was sitting on the couch staring at something. What could have him so spaced out? She wondered. "Is Rick home?"

"He's busy."

Jessie frowned at him knowing that Rick was not busy. "But.. He's just sitting there." She laughed nervously.

"Yeah, well he's busy doing nothing." Carl said seriously but mistook his tone for a joke and she giggled.

"Oh you're hilarious Carl!" She giggled before practically pushing her way inside.

Carl sighed before closing the door once she was fully inside.

"Hi Rick! I made spaghetti." Jessie held up the pot with a smile.

Rick looked over to her and then to Carl. "Oh, Jessie... You're here. Again." Rick couldn't blame anyone but himself for her frequent visits. He showed slight intrest in her for like two days and she made it seem like they were a couple.

She was a nice girl but he had a feeling she was looking for someone to replace the husband he so unregretfully murdered.

He could not be the replacement for her dead husband. He didn't want to be. He needed to let her know so that she could leave him and his family alone.

She went around the community speaking for him and his children like she was his wife and though she wasn't trying to be harmful, it needed to stop.

"Carl please take your sister upstairs. I need to talk to Mrs. Anderson alone."

"Miss Anderson." She corrected playfully with a giggle.

Carl did as he was told and when he was out of earshot, Rick took no time to say what was on his mind.

"Well Miss Anderson, let me just start by saying I think you're a really sweet girl but I am unsure of your intentions..."

She blushed profusely. "Well I like you Rick and I think it's obvious that you like me too. I don't see the need for wasting time in this new world, we're both interested in each other so I think we should make it official. I think the boys and I should move in as soon as possible." She looked up at him with hopeful eyes and he hated to be a jerk but he needed her to know that they wanted completely different things.

Her son despised him and his son for Christ's sake. It would never work and he would never want it to.

"Jessie... That can't happen. I'm sorry but that isn't what I want."

"Excuse me?" She asked as if it were the most outrageous thing she'd heard since the world ended. "Then what do you want? Is it the moving in part that you dont want?"

"I don't want any of it."

"But... but I thought you wanted someone to love you, someone to share your life with.."

" Let me rephrase, I don't want any of that, with you."

It sounded harsher than he anticipated but he didn't care. He just wanted her gone before Michonne got back and misunderstood.

"Is it because of her?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

"Yes." Rick answered with no hesitation.

"I don't understand, y-you approached me first, you came after me!"

"And it was a mistake."

"Wow! You're a jerk!" She slammed the pot of spaghetti on the table before storming out.

As she was walking down the porch stairs, Michonne was arriving.

Jessie fixed her nasty glare on Michonne before scoffing and continuing to her house.

"What's her problem?" Michonne asked when she walking in the house.

"Nevermind that."

Rick walked over to the door to close and lock it.

"How has your day been going?" He asked trying to ignore that she was kissing Spencer when he last saw her.

"It's been... weird." She answered honestly. "How about you?"

"My day has been... interesting."

"Tell me all about it." Michonne said grabbing a glass of water and sitting at the dinner table.

"I would love to, let's have dinner first... at least she left the spaghetti."

Michonne laughed at him. She could tell by the way Jessie stormed out that something happened between them but all he could think about was the food.

"You're silly. Where are the kids?"

"Upstairs." Rick said with a stuffed mouth.

Michonne took it upon herself to make Carl and Judith a plate and call them down since their father was too busy stuffing his face.

...

...

"I'm stuffed." Rick said leaning his head against the back of the couch.

"So am I... and I'm pretty tired so I'm going to call it a night." Michonne stood to stretch and a sliver of her taut stomach was displayed to him as she lifted her arms over her head.

Rick gulped as he stared at her. He wanted to tell her about his newest revelation but he would let her rest.

"Alright. Night." He said as she sauntered past him heading to her room.

"Night." She called over her shoulder as she entered her room.

Rick sat alone on the couch contemplating whether he should follow her or not. He could tell her how he felt before she fell too deep in her relationship with Spencer or he could leave it alone and just lose her forever. It was his fault for realizing his feelings too late.

He sighed deeply before pushing himself off the couch. No way he was admitting defeat.

He knocked on her door knowing she was still awake.

"Rick?" She asked on the other side.

"Yeah... I forgot that I had something important to talk to you about. Can I come in?"

"Hold on."

He heard her moving quickly around the room probably some last minute tidying. The image of her scrambling around her room picking up stray pieces of clothing played in his mind and it brought a smile to his face. He chuckled softly right before she opened the door.

"Come in." She allowed him inside plopping down on the bed after she closed the door. "What did you need to talk about?"

Rick noticed that she had switched out her clothes she wore a few minutes ago for a silk pajama set that clung to her skin beautifully. He also couldn't help but notice how much skin was revealed. He had never seen so much of her skin and it made the blood rush to his face.. and other places.

He cleared his throat before sitting next to her on the bed barely any space between them.

"I um... saw you with Spencer." He said with his eyes facing the wall instead of her face.

"Oh..." She said softly.

"And I hate to make things difficult for you, but I have to say this." Finally, he turned his body towards her and searched her eyes with his own. "I want to be happy for you. I tried to be happy about it... but I can't."

She frowned as she listened to him without interruption.

"I got this weird feeling in my gut like someone had knocked the wind out of me " he snickered humorlessly. "Then by the time I made it home, I realized it was because I was jealous..." He swallowed hard trying to gauge her reaction, but she didn't offer him much so he keep talking. "I was jealous because, I... I love you Michonne. " his jaw immediately clenched as he waited.

For rejection, for her to say she felt the same, for anything! Anything was better than her silence because he was dying not knowing how she felt about what he said.

He laughed nervously while still gazing at her shly.

"Rick..."

She had unshed tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I love you too." She confessed.

The breath he was holding was released in a huff followed by a relieved laugh. She loved him too? Since when? When did she know? Those were the questions he wanted to ask her, but right now, he just wanted to hold her in his arms.

Before that though, he had to ask this one question. "So... Spencer won't be a problem?"

She shook her head. "If you stayed to eavesdrop a little longer you would have realized that I turned him down. I did that because I love you, Rick." She bit her lip before asking him a question of her own. "And Jessie? We don't have to worry about her?"

"You don't have to worry about her. She won't be a problem."

She nodded then felt him gently push her back until her back was planted on the bed.

"Enough talking for now." He whispered as he lowered his lips to hers.

It didn't take long for him to crave more of her- his tongue begging for entrance and she gladly granted him access.

He settled himself between her legs as he explored her mouth with his tongue.

The taste of her, the feel of having her in his arms, was more than he could have ever imagined.

He lowered his lips to her neck and he sucked until her heard her moan sensually into his ear. This caused him to move against her more feverishly.

His hand trailed down the length of her body until it rested comfortably between her legs.

He felt her heat as he massaged her through her pajama bottoms.

Her moans grew in volume and she grinded against his hand until she came.

Rick then placed his hands at the hem of her shorts to pull them down shortly. He rid her of her shirt next and she lay beneath him in nothing but her lace underwear.

Just looking at her was nearly enough for him to come undone but not quite.

Rick temporarily lifted from her and began ripping his own clothes off.

She removed her underwear as he got undressed.

He smiled down at her before he dipped his head back down to her lips claiming them yet again.

Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around him and began grinding herself against him impatiently.

His breath hitched at the contact.

She was killing him and he hadn't even entered her yet. She was eager, he could tell by her movements and he didn't want to to disappoint her by this being over too fast.

It had been a long time for him. He hadn't been with anyone since Lori and he hadn't been with her since the farm. Their relationship fell apart and he couldn't even look at her towards the end, let alone touch her.

"Wait." He whispered when he felt Michonne lead him to her entrance.

"What's wrong?" She asked

"It's been a long time for me... we should take it slow."

Michonne cupped his face with both her hands, legs still wrapped tightly around his middle.

She lifted to give him a reassuring kiss. A kiss that reminded him that she was with him.

"Take all the time you need." She whispered back. "We have all night."

...

...

...

"Good morning." Rick said smiling at her when she finally opened her eyes.

"Good morning." She smiled back at him.

Last night had been the best night she had in a while. Maybe even the best night she's had in years.

Though they had talked before everything went down, she still wanted to know where his mind was now that he slept on it.

She had an idea of how he felt because she was almost sure he felt the same as her, but to be clear of assumptions and misunderstandings, she wanted for them to talk about it.

"There's nothing to talk about." Rick said running his thumb along her bottom lip.

He knew her more than he knew himself, he knew what she was thinking, and he knew how to ease her mind.

"I want this just as much as you do." He confirmed for her. "I love you. We're a family and this is right, it's different."

Michonne leaned forward to kiss him before she spoke. "You're right." She nodded happily.

"Now... I think we should get started on breakfast. The kids will be up soon." Rick suggested.

Before they could fully get dressed, Judith's cries could be heard on the baby monitor.

"Told you."

...

End!

Just a lol something something to say sorry for the slower updates. Love y'all! 


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